Strategic Objective Is Questionable, but Tactics Are Attractive

By David North on February 11, 2016

The strategic objective — making it easier for aliens to buy visas — is dubious, but I must say that the tactics employed are, at first glance, both attractive and creative.

Yesterday's Immigration Daily featured a brief article by "Dino Palangic et. al." to which is attached an Excel spreadsheet that enables immigration attorneys use eye-catching graphics to support their petitions for either nonimmigrant treaty investors (E-2) or immigrant investors (EB-5).

Mr. Palangic runs a paralegal services firm that assists immigration lawyers as they seek to aid their alien clients – which shows, among other things, the complexity and the size of the migrant-advocacy industry.

The sample graphic is, I assume, designed for an E-2 petition as the total to be invested is $480,400. One would need a $500,000 investment to seek an EB-5 visa.

But like so many superficially attractive immigration pitches, this one suffers a bit on examination.

In the first place, the illustration could not be employed for 99 percent of EB-5 petitions, which are in pooled investments that cannot use this kind of graphics.

Secondly, the specific distribution of the to-be-invested (E-2) funds is broken down this way:

  • Commercial building: $200,000
  • Lease: $25,000
  • Four trucks: $234,400
  • Computer: $1,000
  • Car: $20,000
  • Total: $480,400

If you are going to buy (as suggested) a commercial building for $200,000, why do you need a lease? Will a single computer be all the equipment needed for this venture? The illustrative breakdown of the proposed investment could have been done with more care.

I wish that all E-2 investments were as large as $480,400! There are lawyer websites that say $40,000 is the lowest possible stake, but that it is easier to get this visa at the $100,000 level, as we discussed in an earlier blog post.

Regardless of either the dollar amount or the details of the example provided, the underlying notion that a picture (or a graphic) is a valuable tool when making a proposal is, of course, a sound one.